Eco mob backs down….for now: Insulate Britain SUSPENDS campaign for 12 days

1.7k

View
comments

An Insulate Britain campaigner claims that stranded motorists have thanked him and other protestors for their stunts.

Despite the widespread disruption on Britain’s roads, the group claims that some motorists have been grateful for their intervention.

Biff Whipster, a member of Insulate Britain, said some members of the public have been thanking the group during its protests over the last few weeks.

He said: ‘I was in front of a lorry driver at one junction and he came out filming me, very angry. Just five minutes of conversation ended up with him shaking my hand, thanking me and thanking my friends who were in the road. 

‘They were glued to the road on behalf of his children.’

Mr Whipster denied the group blocked an ambulance during its recent protest at Wandsworth Bridge in south-west London.

‘I personally unclogged 50ft of traffic in front of the ambulance, it was on the opposite side of the road, the opportunity to drive away was there,’ he said.

‘I appreciate the chaos of the situation. I’ve seen the clips on social media and it certainly looks like there was an ambulance that we were blocking. 

‘The ambulance was behind the camera though. He was in the opposite carriageway and we did clear the road.’

He added that he had resigned himself to the possibility of potentially being thrown in prison or breaking court injunctions with his continued protesting.

The Insulate Britain campaigner told the PA news agency: ‘I am concerned, I have a house I was hoping I could grow old and die in. If I lose my house, so be it.

‘I can’t not make the voices of the 8,000 people that are dying from fuel poverty heard and children that are going to die from CO2 emissions and the people currently in meaningless work that really could have proper jobs insulating homes.

‘To me, that’s a price to pay. If I end up in prison, if I end up losing every single penny I have, I’ve done all that I can do. So yes, I care deeply about losing my house and my liberty, but the bigger priority is being here now.’

The eco-zealots revealed earlier today they would ‘suspend their campaign of civil resistance’ until October 25 – ahead of the Cop26 summit in November.

Activists penned a letter to Boris Johnson saying they would stop their hated antics and quoted the PM’s hero Sir Winston Churchill in an apparent bid to win him over.

The surprise move comes just hours after it was revealed more than a dozen of their members will finally face court action and possible jail within days.

Just over a month after the first roadblocks brought chaos to the motorways, officials are set to ask judges to take action against the eco-warriors.

Yesterday Insulate Britain caused disruption by running on to the road by traffic lights at junction 31 near Thurrock by the Dartford Crossing.

But motorists got out of their cars and dragged the protesters off the road while they were still in seated positions, with one man seen ripping banners out of their hands.

Essex Police made a total of 35 arrests across two sites, including 16 people on the M25 and 19 by a nearby industrial estate.

Today’s letter to the PM said: ‘Insulate Britain would like to take this opportunity to profoundly acknowledge the disruption caused over the past five weeks.

‘We cannot imagine undertaking such acts in normal circumstances. But the dire reality of our situation has to be faced.

‘Ahead of COP26, Insulate Britain will suspend its campaign of civil resistance until Monday 25th October.

‘In light of the speech you made (to the UN on the 22nd September) in which you recognised that ”We are approaching that critical turning point – in less than two months – when we must show that we are capable of learning, and maturing, and finally taking responsibility for the destruction we are inflicting, not just upon our planet but ourselves”, we ask you to use this time to signal that you believe what you say.

‘We invite you to make a meaningful statement that we can trust, a statement that the country wants to hear: that your government will live up to its responsibilities to protect us, to defend law and order; that your government will take the lead needed to insulate and retrofit our homes; that it will ‘get on with the job’ so families can feed their children and keep their homes warm.

‘We invite you to do the right thing, so we can be secure in the knowledge that our government did everything it could to protect and defend our country.’

The statement began with a quote attributed to Sir Winston Churchill, Mr Johnson’s hero who he has written a biography about.

It said: ‘Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest of warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger.

‘The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequence.’ (Winston Churchill 1936).’

Ringleader Liam Norton said he will hand deliver the note to the Prime Minister in Downing Street at 1pm.

It came hours after it emerged more than a dozen Insulate Britain activists will finally face court action – and possible jail – within days.

Just over a month after the first roadblocks brought chaos to the motorways, officials are set to ask judges to take action against the eco-zealots.

There has been increasing dismay among ministers about the slow pace of action at National Highways, previously known as Highways England, and with police who have made arrests only to release protesters hours later.

But final details are now being added to legal papers which could see Insulate Britain demonstrators taken out of action at last.

The number of activists being targeted is understood to be between 12 and 15.

The group are part of the 113 people named in a National Highways junctions which they will be accused of breaching.

A government source said: ‘We’ve identified a considerable number of protesters who have breached at least one of the injunctions we have in place.

‘National Highways lawyers are now working with the police to put together evidence in order to take these people to court.

‘We hope to get this in front of the court either later this week or early next.’ The process is fraught with difficulties, however. 

National Highways will have to apply to the High Court for committal proceedings against the activists, paperwork will have to be issued to each activist and a date for a trial will then have to be set.

If activists are found guilty of breaching an injunction they could face up to two years’ imprisonment for contempt of court.

A High Court hearing was taking place to extend the series of injunctions barring them from the M25, the Port of Dover and major A roads around London.

A further hearing is due to take place next week.

Yesterday the demonstrators ran out on to the road by traffic lights at junction 31 of the motorway near Thurrock on the north side of the Dartford Crossing which links Essex to Kent, and also close to a nearby industrial estate.

But motorists got out of their cars and dragged the protesters off the road while they were still in seated positions, with one man seen ripping Insulate Britain banners out of their hands. Essex Police made a total of 35 arrests.

A lorry driver was filmed taking his vehicle right up to the protesters, another man dragged an activist onto the pavement by his backpack, and a mother taking her son to school said she would ‘drive straight through you’.

She said: ‘Out of the way, move out of the way now. You’re taking the f***ing p**s. My son needs to get to school, I don’t care what the f***ing issue is. My son is 11, he needs to get to school today, so move out the way and let me get my son to school. Do you think I care? I’ll drive through you. You f***ing… I’ll drive straight through you.’

A woman nearby was heard saying ‘careful, careful, careful’, another man was heard pleading with her ‘don’t, don’t, don’t’ – and a protester said: ‘Are you going to kill us, are you going to kill us to get your son to school?’

Near the industrial estate in Thurrock, around 20 protesters blocked the junction to St Clements Way and London Road, forcing multiple vehicles including HGVs to stop and turn round as vehicles blasted their horns.

Motorists got out of their cars to confront protesters, who lay down in the road in front of them. Some were physically dragged out of the road but immediately returned, only to be dragged away again by the drivers.

Some 35 demonstrators were arrested across the two sites, including 16 people on the M25 and 19 near the industrial estate. The protest began at 8.25am and the force said at 11.20am that all roads had been reopened.

While Essex Police responded swiftly to the M25 element of the protest within five minutes and kept one lane open, there was criticism of their slower response to the industrial estate, which was labelled ‘shameful’.

Reporters at the scene claimed there was no sign of police at least 40 minutes after that protest began as delays continued.

At least 479 protesters have been arrested in a month – most on suspicion of obstructing a highway or conspiracy to commit public nuisance – but many drivers have taken matters into their own hands before police arrive. 

People removing an activist could try to claim protection under the Criminal Law Act 1967, which states someone may use ‘reasonable’ force to prevent crime – but this has not yet been tested in law in relation to these protests.

Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, yesterday marked the 13th time that it had caused disruption on motorways or A roads over the past four weeks – and their protests continued despite a series of injunctions.

Retired Anglican vicar Reverend Sue Parfitt, 79, a regular Insulate Britain and XR activist, was among those being arrested on the M25. She has already been arrested at other M25 protests on September 13, 21 and 29.

An Essex Police spokesman said yesterday: ‘We’re on scene and have made arrests following reports of people blocking the slip road of the M25 at J31 in Thurrock.

‘We were called at 8.26am and officers were on scene within five minutes. We’re trying to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible.’

In an update issued around 25 minutes later, the force added: ‘We’ve made 16 arrests after reports of people blocking the M25 at J31 in Thurrock.

‘Officers responded within five minutes and were able to keep one lane open. We’re now responding to people blocking the road in the Stonehouse Ln area in Purfleet.’

Then in a third update at about 11.20am, they said: ’35 people have now been arrested after we responded quickly to reports of roads blocked in Thurrock.

’16 people were arrested at J31 of the M25 while 19 were arrested in Stonehouse Ln, Purfleet. All roads are now open. Thank you for your patience and understanding.’

The group has blocked parts of major roads around London, including the M25 and M4, to draw attention to climate change.

On Tuesday protesters set light to court injunction papers that had been individually served on them, on the pavement outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

A High Court hearing was taking place over three injunctions granted to National Highways, covering the M25, Port of Dover and major A roads around London.

A previously-announced plan to use a catch-all injunction against Insulate Britain is understood to have hit the legal buffers.

Officials had said they planned to obtain a ‘contra mundum injunction’ with far more sweeping terms that would be easier to enforce.

But lawyers told ministers they would have to list the ‘essential nature’ of each separate motorway and A road in the country in order to secure such an injunction.

In the face of such an administrative nightmare, the idea is now thought to have been ditched.

The Mail reported last month how Insulate Britain is planning to fill Britain’s jails with hundreds of eco-activists in an attempt to create a ‘political crisis’ for PM Boris Johnson.

They believe significant numbers of activists being jailed could light a powder keg on wider disorder, in the run-up to the Cop26 environment summit in Glasgow next month.

In September, activist Shel MacDonagh said 300 individuals would need to get themselves jailed in order to force the Government to grant concessions to the group.

‘We need this campaign to continue going, and we think we need in the ballpark of 300 people to be able to face prison for us to be able to get a chance for this [a government concession] to happen,’ she said.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, has announced plans for a new type of Asbo to tackle the protests.

Criminal Disruption Prevention Orders – dubbed ‘Asbos for crusties’ – are intended to be quicker to enforce than injunctions.

A specific new offence will also be created to deal with protests by Insulate Britain and its parent group Extinction Rebellion.

It will be made a crime to ‘interfere with critical national infrastructure’, including major roads, railways, seaports, power stations and newspaper printing presses.

The new crime will carry up to six months’ imprisonment.

However, both new powers will have to pass through Parliament and are not expected to come into force until spring or summer next year.

Insulate Britain is run by ringleader Norton, whose own home was found to have no cavity wall insulation.

Other leaders in the secretive group include Extinction Rebellion veteran David McKenny and Cathy Eastburn, whose husband was revealed to be Ben Plowden, a Transport for London director. He has stepped down from his £170,000-a-year role.

Eastburn had previously vowed to ‘unleash hell’ on drivers during her protesting, despite her long-term partner Mr Plowden’s role in charge of the Covid Restart and Recovery Scheme.

It is understood TfL bosses were aware of her views and actions, but insist it was Mr Plowden who resigned for unrelated reasons to ‘pursue new opportunities’.

The group, which is calling on the Government to insulate all homes across the UK by 2030 to help cut carbon emissions, has been protesting since September 13.

Last week Boris Johnson blasted Insulate Britain protesters as ‘irresponsible crusties’, saying the eco-zealots who have repeatedly blocked highways in recent weeks were ‘doing considerable damage to the economy’. 

Ms Patel told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that ‘measures already going through Parliament will ensure these criminals can be brought to justice for the disruption they are causing’. 

Criminal Disruption Prevention Orders will prevent individuals from taking part in particular protests, and it will become an offence to interfere with critical national infrastructure.

It is hoped they will be quicker to enforce than the civil injunctions taken out by National Highways. Protesters could face up to two years in jail or an unlimited fine if they are found in breach of the injunctions.